KHAALSA : A nation of Saintly Warriors
“The Sikh is a warrior, a soldier, for a just world”
This is HARJINDER SINGH, choosing his weapons for the stunning gatka performance that his 'Akhaara' delivered to a 1,000 plus crowd at the September 2005, 700-year HOMECOMING celebration of WILLIAM WALLACE. They mesmorised the Scottish crowds with an array of Sikh sword combat and weaponry skills.
The same Birmingham based Sikh sword combat group, is delivering an equally stunning display of this 17th century Sikh battefield practise at the forthcoming SCOTTISH-SIKH BRAVEHEARTS event on 4th September 2010 in Stirling. The group is headed by Harjinder Singh - 07813488168. The name of the group is BABA DEEP SINGH GATKA AKHARRA, named in memory of the sikh braveheart BABA DEEP SINGH. 'GATKA' is the name normally given to the practise of Sikh sword combat, though it is, also, known more specifically and strictly as 'shashtar vidiya' - 'sacred learning of weapons'.
The GATKA AKHARRA is modelled on historic traditions of armed combat units (akharra), is essentially provides a spiritual school in the techniques and ethics of sword and weapons combat as taught and practised by the spiritual founders of the Sikh community - the TEN GURUS (1469-1708).
'Gatka' or 'shashatar vidiya' is rooted in the Sikh saint-soldier tradition, forged over the 17th and 18th century in the battles of Panjaab, north India. The Sikh weapons tradition is based on spiritual ethics, about the moral use of weapons to combat injustice, fight oppression and resist unfair governance. The weapons tradition and saint-soldier spirit is bound up in a powerful ethical code, expressed through a history of bravehearts and sacrifices over the 16th to 18th century, and continuing today in the current day Sikh national struggle for independence in panjaab. The whole practise and tradition is equivalent to that of the Japanese Samurai warrior.
See a selection of photos of the BABA DEEP SINGH GATKA AKHAARA in action in Lanark, September 2005:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/sets/72157616882779188/detail/
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